The Perfect Philly Cheesesteak

An exercise in humility

Since moving to Philly, one of the side quests I’ve adopted for myself is to become an expert in cheesesteaks. The famous “Philly Cheesesteak” - known around the world. But of course, for a food so famous, what everyone really wants is to know - what is the authentic Philly cheesesteak?

I may have only lived in Philadelphia for 2 years, but that has been ample enough time to sample many of the city’s cheesesteak offerings. And. I have a conclusion. I have, in fact, found the perfect cheesesteak. Also, I’m sorry to say that the restaurant has gone out of business.

There’s obviously a goofiness in this question of the BEST philly cheesesteak. The best anything really - it’s totally subjective. If you actually know what a cheesesteak is, it’s kind of a weird thing to wonder about! It’s cheap beef, fried up with some cheap cheese, grease slimed across a piece of cheap bread. The cheaper, the better. The greasier the better. Ketchup, mayo, grilled peppers, grilled onions optional. Fries optional.

If someone serves you that, and you aren’t satisfied, then maybe you just don’t like cheesesteak.

Midjourney imagines a cheesesteak. A past version of me would have eaten that and loved every second of it.

The last time I had a love relationship with a cheesesteak was the week I discovered Sandoz Food Truck. Sandoz is 4 blocks away from my house, on the corner of Baltimore and 51st. They are open Wednesday - Sunday “9AMish to 4PMish”. The first time I tried Sandoz, I had cheesesteak for lunch every day for the rest of the week. I got horribly sick. Because I was an idiot and no one should eat that much cheesesteak in that short amount of time.

I won’t describe to you the experience of eating a cheesesteak from Sandoz, but if you don’t get your little butt over there and try one before they too succumb to the overwhelming nonsense of capitalism and stop producing true art for the people. True cheesesteak, made in Philadelphia, by Philadelphians, you may never know what cheesesteak is.

The special something about cheesesteak, the IYKYK, is that cheesesteak is humble. And the experience of eating cheesesteak should be humbling. My perfect cheesesteak humbled me in emotional ways. Sandoz humbled me in physical ways. Maybe it will humble you as well.